King of Wales was a rarely used title, because

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, much like

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, rarely achieved a degree of political unity like that of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. While many different leaders in Wales claimed the title of "King of Wales", the country was only truly united under the rule of

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( 5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-gre ...

from 1055 to 1063. Rhodri Mawr has been suggested by some as the first sovereign of Wales, and the first to unite most of Wales. The modern-day territory of Wales was only fully united under the direct rule of

from 1055 to 1063 according to historian John Davies. The native use of the title "Prince of Wales" appeared more frequent by the eleventh century as a "modernised" or reformed form of the old high kingship of the Britons. The native use of the titles ended following the killing of Llywelyn the Last, his brother,

Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Gruffydd (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283) was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 on the orders of King Edward I of England. He was the last native Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wa ...

, and Owain Glyndŵr, since then the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

title has been used by the English and then British monarchy.

History

Before Welsh Kings

Prior to the King or Prince of Wales title, the title King of the Britons was used to describe the King of the Celtic Britons, ancestors of the Welsh. The

Brut y Tywysogion ''Brut y Tywysogion'' ( en, Chronicle of the Princes) is one of the most important primary sources for Welsh history. It is an annalistic chronicle that serves as a continuation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. ''Brut ...

, Gwentian Chronicles of Caradoc of Llancarvan version, which was written no earlier than the mid-16th century lists multiple Kings of the Britons as a "King of Wales".

Early use of the title

Following the departure of the

Roman legions The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

from Wales, the country had become fractured into divided territories, each with its own leaders. The first known person to actually call himself king was

Rhodri Mawr Rhodri ap Merfyn ( 820 – 873/877/878), popularly known as Rhodri the Great ( cy, Rhodri Mawr), succeeded his father, Merfyn Frych, as King of Gwynedd in 844. Rhodri annexed Powys c. 856 and Seisyllwg c. 871. He is called "King of the Britons" ...

(c. 820–878) and being from Wales he was by extension called the King of Wales, although he did not control all of the country. Nonetheless, he did unite much of the land under his power, thus demonstrating that it could be possible for Wales to exist as a unified political entity. Though he died in 878, the legacy of what he had accomplished was significant enough to act as motivation for future Welsh leaders to aspire to. This would eventually lead to the rule of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (c. 1010–1063), the first true Welsh king.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn rules all Wales

From the smaller kingdoms of Wales eventually emerged four major powers: Powys, Gwynedd, Dyfed/Deheubarth, and Morgannwg. With Wales now developing into a more consolidated entity, it ultimately set the stage for Gruffudd ap Llywelyn in the mid-11th century. Alliances with Anglo-Saxon dynasties and Vikings helped him unite the country, and even conquer land belonging to the English. "In 1055 he absorbed

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...

as well, thus becoming in effect King of Wales". John Davies states that Gruffydd was "the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of and notably peaceful rule by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor." After his betrayal and death at the hands of his own men, Wales fell into civil war with other leaders seeking to fill the void of power and become king. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was referred to as King of Wales or ''Rex Walensium'' by

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''. ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wi ...

. He was the last of a long line of paramount rulers among the insular Britons to have the title of King of the Britons bestowed upon him, and possibly the only one to truly rule over all the (independent) Britons. By this time, if not earlier, Wales was the only part of Britain remaining under

Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

rule.

Evolution into Prince of Wales

The native use of the title "Prince of Wales" appeared more frequent by the eleventh century as a "modernised" or reformed form of the old high kingship of the Britons. The Welsh had originally been the High Kings of the Britons up until the claim to be high king of late Romano-British Britain was no longer realistic after the death of

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 682 AD. Two devastating plagues happened during his reign, one in 664 and the other in 682; he himself was a victim of t ...

in 664. Cadwaldr was also heavily associated with the symbol of the Red Dragon of Wales.D.R. Woolf, "The power of the past: history, ritual and political authority in Tudor England", in Paul A. Fideler, ''Political Thought and the Tudor Commonwealth:Deep Structure, Discourse, and Disguise'', New York, 1992, pp.21–22. According to Dr Sean Davies, "in these straitened circumstances, and with outside observers ridiculing the status of Welsh kings, ambitious native nobles adopted the novel title of prince ( cy, Tywysog, ), in order to set them apart from their fellow "kings"." However, the title King of Wales was later used by at least one other Welsh ruler,

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...

(c. 1100–1170). "In his first two letters to Louis, Owain described himself as "king of Wales" and "king of the Welsh"." His direct rule was, however, limited to Gwynedd. Owain was also the first Welsh ruler to be known as

. He ruled over much of Northern Wales, but a lack of success in military campaigns limited his ability to extend his control. After the death of Owain Gwynedd in 1170, the mantle of paramount Welsh ruler was taken up by

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd, commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys'' (c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197 and native Prince of Wales. It was believed that he ...

(c. 1132–1197), who was called "Head of all Wales" by the

on his death in 1197. His direct rule was limited to Deheubarth. For a list of Welsh rulers upon whom titles such as these were bestowed (leading ultimately to the title

), see King of the Britons. Llywelyn the Last, the last Prince of Wales, was ambushed and killed in 1282. The execution of his brother

in 1283 on the orders of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

effectively ended

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...

. The title of Prince of Wales was then used by the English monarchy for the heir to the English throne. The use of this title by an English monarch has been described as a "humiliation" of Wales. During the period 1400–1413, following a rebellion against English rule in Wales, there existed a native Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndŵr, and a Prince of Wales appointed by the English monarchy (who later became Henry V of England). The native Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndŵr, led Welsh forces against the English Prince of Wales and English rule in Wales. The eventual defeat of Glyndwr's forces effectively ended

. Since the death of Owain Glyndŵr in 1415, the Prince of Wales title has only been held by a non-native heir to the English (and later British) monarchy.

List of "Kings of Wales" titleholders

The following is a list of those assigned or claiming the title of King or Prince of Wales, including "Sovereigns and Princes of Wales 844–1283". Some sources suggest Rhodri Mawr as the first sovereign of Wales, as well as the first to unite most of Wales. While many different leaders in Wales claimed the title of "King of Wales" and ruled majorities of Wales, the modern-day territory of Wales was only fully united under the direct rule of

from 1055 to 1063 according to historian John Davies.

Other uses

References

{{Reflist King of Wales